My poem “The Buck” received an Honourable Mention in the 2018 Literary Writes Contest, organized by the Federation of BC Writers. This poem was published in the Spring, 2018 issue of the FBCW’s literary magazine WordWorks. You can also read it right here:
The Buck
The buck in our yard. So grand you want
to write a sonnet for him. His rack—
implacable—a first-Viking crown,
towering, tined, trophy. Forked, as though
it might divine silver, ruby, deep
spring waters, other-world rivers. Webbed,
phallic. The envy of Zeus. All this
on a slender head, muzzle brushed
satin. Sometimes he lies down, stretches
his neck along the ground, rests
his chin on the grass, aggravated
as Hamlet, with the weight, the weight
of his title. Larger than most,
limbs fine-boned, lethal. Haunches
whitened. Today, while he grazes,
a front leg, disjointed at the knee,
dangles. The other legs bewildered.
His eyes, unblinking, follow us when
we rake leaves in the garden. We speak
in low tones, let him sleep over, veiled
by old rhododendrons, canopied
by acuba, abutilon. Enough
water in the fountain, clover in the lawn.
His rack inclined toward the far horizon.
